Break Up with Your Mega-Bank

Where you bank matters. With mega-banks, your money is going directly to greedy, predatory Wall Street, funding fossil fuels, sweatshops, factory farms and other destructive industries. When you switch to a community development bank or credit union, your money can create jobs, housing, social services, and build healthy communities and a better world.

Step 2.

Open your new account with a small deposit while keeping your normal mega-bank account open. Order the products you need such as checks, debit cards, and deposit slips.

Step 3.

Make a list of any of your automatic deposits like your paycheck, or auto-withdrawals, like your bills.

Step 4.

Move your automatic deposits to your new account. If you have direct deposit for your paycheck, ask your employer to transfer your paychecks to your new account (you will likely need to provide a voided check from your new account to your employer). The same holds true for Social Security payments or other forms of income you receive automatically into your account. Ask for the date on which the payment to your new account will take place.

Step 5.

Move your automatic withdrawals to your new account (you will likely need to provide the routing and account numbers at the bottom of your checks). When you know that sufficient funds will be in your new account, transfer your automatic payments so that they are now deducted from your new account. Ask for the date on which the payments from your new account will begin. It’s wise to leave a small amount of cash in your mega-bank checking account for a month after you think you have shifted your deposits and withdrawals to your new bank or credit union to guard against any unforeseen circumstances like checks you wrote that hadn't been cashed, or payments you forgot about.

Step 6.

If you have only online banking through your mega-bank, take screenshots of statements or print them out. Save them for your records and keep canceled checks you may later need.

Step 7.

Transfer the final funds from your mega-bank account to your new account – once you have all your automatic deposits and payments transferred and any last checks have cleared your old account. Electronic transfer of these final funds to your new account is usually the fastest and safest method to use.

Step 8.

Close your mega-bank account. Once the last remaining funds in your old account have transferred to your new account, follow the bank’s procedures for closing accounts. Obtain written confirmation that your account is closed.

Step 9.

Inform your bank why you are breaking up (You can use our sample letter as a guide).

Step 10.

Encourage your congregation, workplace, or alma mater to use a community development bank or credit union if they do not already do so. Also, if you are on the boards of any nonprofits, or live in a condo or housing co-op, you can encourage these organizations to switch too. For colleges and universities, turn to Responsible Endowments Coalition.

Bonus Steps! Tell all your friends and family about your great new banking relationship and why you made the choice to switch.

Are accounts at smaller banks and credit unions safe?
Yes, your accounts at community investing banks and credit unions are insured up to $250,000 per depositor at any bank with FDIC insurance and any credit union with NCUA insurance.

Victory

Approximately $6 trillion in assets, 60,000 individuals, and 800 institutions have pledged to divest from fossil fuels.
This divestment movement, which started in 2011, is strong and growing substantially.
Statistics from GoFossilFree.org. Graph by…

Wall Street is pushing Congress to dismantle the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), created after the 2008 financial crisis to protect us from scams and predatory financial products and services.

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